1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air conditioning systems for vehicles and, more specifically, to a piston having anti-rotation for a swashplate compressor of an air conditioning system in a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to provide an air conditioning system for a motor vehicle. The air conditioning system typically carries a fluid medium such as a refrigerant to cool air for an occupant compartment of the motor vehicle. It is also known to provide a compressor for the air conditioning system to compress the refrigerant circulating therethrough. One type of compressor for an air conditioning system is known as a swashplate compressor. An example of such a compressor for an air conditioning system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,215. In this patent, the compressor has a housing with a cylindrical inner surface surrounding a cylinder block having a series of cylinder bores. A central drive shaft rotates a slanted swashplate that moves axially in a reciprocating manner to drive corresponding pistons connected thereto in their cylinder bores. Unlike wobble plate driven pistons, there is a need to limit the rotation of the pistons in a swashplate compressor. The swashplate compressor has anti-rotation wings that prevent the piston from rubbing with the swashplate. However, the limiting housing dimension is dependent on the swashplate mechanism in the crankcase.
It is desirable to provide a piston for a swashplate compressor of an air conditioning system with an anti-rotation feature. It is also desirable to provide a piston for a swashplate compressor of an air conditioning system that allows for much tighter packaging of the compressor. It is further desirable to provide anti-rotation wings for the pistons in a swashplate compressor to limit rotation of the pistons. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a piston having anti-rotation for a swashplate compressor of an air conditioning system that accomplishes these desires.